1. Field
Embodiments of the present invention relate to a heating cooker including an infrared ray detection device.
2. Description of the Related Art
A heating cooker is a device for cooking food by increasing the temperature of the food. Generally, such a heating cooker includes a microwave oven, in which food is irradiated with microwaves, and a gas oven and an electric oven, in which heat is directly applied to food. The microwave oven is a device in which microwaves generated from a magnetron are irradiated onto food, to generate frictional heat in accordance with parallel motion of water molecules contained in the food, and thus to cook the food using the frictional heat.
The cooked state of food may be checked based on a measured temperature of the food. However, it is difficult to directly measure the temperature of the food during cooking. To this end, the temperature of food is measured using a method in which the intensity of infrared rays generated from the food is measured, and the temperature of food is calculated based on the measured intensity of infrared rays. An infrared sensor is generally used for measurement of the intensity of infrared rays. The infrared sensor is arranged in the vicinity of a detection hole formed at a cooking chamber to receive a light receiving portion of the infrared sensor, which receives an infrared ray, such that the light receiving portion is exposed to the cooking chamber.
However, the light receiving portion may be contaminated by oil vapor or water vapor generated from food because the light receiving portion of the infrared sensor is exposed to the cooking chamber. In the case of a microwave oven, microwaves irradiated into the cooking chamber may reach the light receiving portion, thereby degrading the reliability of measurement results.